ESO Announcementshttp://www.eso.org/public/announcements/enThu, 26 Feb 2015 12:00:00 +0100ESOcast 72: Looking Deeply into the Universe in 3Dhttp://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann15012/<p>The MUSE instrument on ESO&rsquo;s Very Large Telescope has given astronomers the best ever three-dimensional view of the deep Universe. Staring at the Hubble Deep Field South region for 27 hours, the new observations reveal the distances, motions and other properties of far more galaxies than ever before in this tiny piece of the sky; extending even beyond Hubble&rsquo;s reach to reveal previously invisible objects.</p>
<p>This ESOcast takes a look at what MUSE found in the Hubble Deep Field South and the way in which it has made life a little easier for astronomers, by compiling thousands of images of these remote galaxies into a three-dimensional stack of images, each at a different wavelength.</p>
<p>You can <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/esocast-hd/id295471183?mt=2%20">subscribe to the ESOcasts in iTunes, r</a>eceive future episodes&nbsp;<a href="http://www.youtube.com/ESOObservatory/">on YouTube</a> or&nbsp;<a href="https://vimeo.com/esoastronomy">follow us on Vimeo</a>.<br /><a href="http://www.eso.org/public/videos/archive/category/esocast/%20">Many other ESOcast episodes are also available.</a><br />Find out how to <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/outreach/soft_subtitles/">view and contribute subtitles for the ESOcast</a> in multiple languages, or&nbsp;<a href="https://dotsub.com/view/ed2983a9-6a41-4e79-ab28-8da5d3f51ca7">translate this video on dotSUB</a>.</p>Thu, 26 Feb 2015 12:00:00 +0100http://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann15012/Cerimonia di inaugurazione dell'ESO Supernova e del Centro Visitehttp://www.eso.org/public/switzerland-it/announcements/ann15011/<p>Si &egrave; svolta oggi presso la sede dell'ESO a Garching, in Germania, la cerimonia inaugurale dell'ESO Supernova Planetarium &amp; Visitor Centre. Questo evento segna l'inizio della principale fase di costruzione della struttura.</p>
<p>L'ESO Supernova sar&agrave; una magnifica vetrina per la divulgazione dell&rsquo;astronomia. &nbsp;Esso &egrave; stato reso possibile grazie alla collaborazione tra l'<a href="http://www.h-its.org/en/">Istituto per gli studi teorici di Heidelberg</a> (HITS) e l&rsquo;ESO. La <a href="http://www.klaus-tschira-stiftung.de/">Klaus Tschira Stiftung</a> (KTS), una fondazione tedesca che sostiene le scienze naturali, matematiche e informatiche, e finanzia interamente la costruzione, mentre l'ESO provveder&agrave; alla gestione della struttura. Il suggestivo edificio &egrave; stato progettato dagli architetti <a href="http://www.bernhardt-partner.de/">Bernhardt + Partner.</a></p>
<p>Questa nuova struttura offrir&agrave; ai visitatori un&rsquo;esperienza coinvolgente di astronomia sui risultati scientifici, sui progetti e sulle innovazioni tecnologiche dell&rsquo;ESO. Essa includer&agrave; un planetario a cupola completa e pi&ugrave; di 2000 metri quadrati di esposizioni permanenti e temporanee. Saranno inoltre a disposizione sale congressi che ospiteranno numerose lezioni, workshop e conferenze. Tutti i contenuti saranno forniti in inglese e tedesco.</p>
<p>L&lsquo;innovativo evento, a cui &nbsp;hanno partecipato i rappresentanti dell&rsquo;HITS e del KTS, i rappresentanti invitati delle autorit&agrave; locali, i membri del Garching Science Campus, un rappresentante della Technische Universit&auml;t M&uuml;nchen, alcune persone coinvolte nel progetto ESO Supernova e i membri della stampa. &egrave; stato aperto dal Direttore Generale dell'ESO, Tim de Zeeuw. Gli interventi sono stati tenuti da Klaus Tschira, Fondatore e Amministratore Delegato della Klaus Tschira Stiftung, dal Sindaco di Garching, Dietmar Gruchmann e dall'architetto Manfred Bernhardt.</p>
<p>Dopo gli interventi, si &egrave; svolta una breve cerimonia inaugurale presso il cantiere dell'edificio. L'ESO Supernova sar&agrave; terminato nei primi mesi del 2017 e dovrebbe aprire al pubblico nel corso del 2017.</p>
<p>Inoltre contemporaneamente alla cerimonia inaugurale &egrave; stato lanciato il <a href="http://supernova.eso.org/">sito internet </a>per la nuova struttura. Esso permette ai potenziali visitatori, giornalisti, insegnanti, partner e anche ad altri Planetari di esplorare le attivit&agrave; previste dall&rsquo;ESO Supernova, comprese le esposizioni a tema, le attivit&agrave; didattiche, gli spettacoli del planetario e le visite guidate. La pagina web elenca inoltre le opportunit&agrave; disponibili per far parte del team dell&rsquo;ESO Supernova sia come volontario, stagista o membro del personale. Vengono inoltre proposti diversi tipi di collaborazione, con i corrispondenti livelli di prestazioni, per le aziende, istituti o singoli donatori che desiderano sostenere l&rsquo;ESO Supernova</p>Tue, 24 Feb 2015 17:00:00 +0100http://www.eso.org/public/switzerland-it/announcements/ann15011/First Light for Laser Guide Star Technology Collaborationhttp://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann15010/<p>A team of astronomers and engineers from ESO, the <a href="http://www.iac.es/">Instituto de Astrof&iacute;sica de Canarias</a> (IAC), the <a href="http://www.gtc.iac.es/">Gran Telescopio CANARIAS</a> (GTC) and <a href="http://www.mporzio.astro.it/">INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma</a> has achieved first light and successful commissioning of the <a href="http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/proceeding.aspx?articleid=1359766">ESO Wendelstein Laser Guide Star system</a> <a href="#1">[1]</a> at the IAC's<a href="http://www.iac.es/eno.php?op1=3&amp;lang=en"> Observatorio del Teide </a>on Tenerife in Spain.</p>
<p>Following <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann14034/">an agreement </a>in April 2014 between ESO and the IAC, the required infrastructure for the experiment was built at the observatory. The team carried out the installation and commissioning of the ESO Wendelstein Laser Guide Star Unit laser, the receiver system and the automated observing software.</p>
<p>These joint activities are research and development studies to optimise the laser guide star return brightness from the upper atmosphere with special attention being paid to the influence of the geomagnetic field on the performance.</p>
<p>The experimental setup uses<a href="http://www.eso.org/sci/publications/messenger/archive/no.139-mar10/messenger-no139-12-19.pdf"> fibre laser technologies developed at ESO</a> to produce a 20-watt continuous wave laser that is capable of varying laser parameters such as frequency, spectral lines, linewidth, polarisation and intensity. The setup allows laser guide stars to be acquired automatically while switching the laser parameters and the pointing. Observational campaigns will start in February 2015 and continue at a rate of one week per quarter for a period of 15 months.</p>
<p>This work is part of a larger laser guide star and adaptive optics technology research and development programme at ESO in collaboration with <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/about-eso/memberstates/">Member State</a> institutes and companies, in the context of current and future large telescope projects including the <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/e-elt/">European Extremely Large Telescope</a> (E-ELT). These experiments are also a step towards the development of the laser guide star system for the GTC and could be adopted to upgrade existing systems at other telescopes such as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_Binocular_Telescope">Large Binocular Telescope</a>.</p>
<h3 dir="ltr">Notes</h3>
<p><a name="1"></a>[1] These laser systems are some of the technology used in the technique of adaptive optics, which compensates for the atmospheric turbulence that affects ground-based observations. An artificial guide star is produced by shining a powerful laser into the sky &mdash; which acts as an artificial reference point from which light is returned back to Earth &mdash; helping to create images of astronomical objects as sharp as if the telescope were in space.</p>Tue, 10 Feb 2015 16:00:00 +0100http://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann15010/Grazie, 100 000 amici di Facebookhttp://www.eso.org/public/switzerland-it/announcements/ann15009/<p>ESO accoglie con grande piacere il suo 100 000esimo amico di Facebook e ringrazia tutti quelli che sono diventati amici di FB e, cos&igrave;, hanno aiutato a diffondere l'interesse per l'astronomia, lo spazio e le conquiste che chiunque, in ESO, sta cercando di conseguire con un duro lavoro. <br /><br />Ogni "mi piace", ogni condivisione, ogni richiamo serve per aumentare il numero di quanti possono apprezzare le meraviglie dell'Universo. Ringraziamo tutti quelli che hanno partecipato per il loro sostegno all'ESO allo scopo di raggiungere un numero sempre maggiore di persone.</p>Tue, 10 Feb 2015 09:00:00 +0100http://www.eso.org/public/switzerland-it/announcements/ann15009/Teacher Training on Stellar Evolutionhttp://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann15008/<p>The Board of Education for the German Astronomical Society, in collaboration with ESO and the Excellence Cluster Universe of the Technical University of Munich, is organising a two-day teacher-training workshop on stellar evolution on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 March 2015. The course aims to help those teaching the subject as part of the grade 12 astrophysics curriculum in Germany and will feature lecture and discussion sessions as well as workshops.</p>
<p>Teachers who are interested in this opportunity are invited to obtain further details and register at the following <a href="https://fibs.alp.dillingen.de/suche/details.php?v_id=115477">web site</a>.</p>
<p>Teachers participating in the course will also be provided with a wealth of material to use in the classroom, including presentation slides, computer software, literature and a collection of useful web links.</p>
<p>The training session will be held at ESO Headquarters in Garching bei M&uuml;nchen and will be in German.</p>Wed, 04 Feb 2015 11:00:00 +0100http://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann15008/2014 European Astronomy Journalism Prize Winner Announcedhttp://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann15007/<p>Louise Mayor has won the 2014 <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/outreach/astroprize/">European Astronomy Journalism Prize</a>. Her prize consists of a trip to the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (<a href="http://eso.org/alma">ALMA</a>) &mdash; a state-of-the-art telescope to study light from some of the coldest objects in the Universe &mdash; in northern Chile. The winning article explores the quest to directly detect gravitational waves using a technique involving studying pulsars with radio telescopes.</p>
<p>Entitled &ldquo;Hunting Gravitational Waves Using Pulsars&rdquo;, the article was published in the October 2014 issue of Physics World, the magazine for members of the Institute of Physics. It was also promoted via a <a href="http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/multimedia/2014/oct/14/in-search-of-gravitational-waves">short clip</a>.</p>
<p>As features editor of <em><a href="http://physicsworld.com/">Physics World</a></em>, Louise Mayor is helping physicists and science writers to tell their stories in different areas of cutting-edge physics. Before joining <em>Physics World</em> in 2010, Louise did a PhD in dye-sensitised solar cells at the University of Nottingham.</p>
<p>&ldquo;<em>I am absolutely delighted to win the prize. My article was about the effort to detect gravitational waves by using radio telescopes to observe distant pulsars. I first heard about this method last year and was so curious that I felt compelled to find out more by visiting the Jodrell Bank Observatory and to share the story with others. I can&rsquo;t wait to visit ALMA and gaze up at a night sky full of more stars than I&rsquo;ve ever seen before, experience the weird effects of high altitude and find out what cosmic questions the scientists there are trying to answer,</em>&rdquo; Louise declared upon hearing the news.</p>
<p>The panel of judges consisted of representatives of the European Southern Observatory, the <a href="http://www.stfc.ac.uk/home.aspx">Science and Technology Facilities Council</a>, the <a href="https://www.ras.org.uk/">Royal Astronomical Society</a> and the <a href="http://www.absw.org.uk/">Association of British Science Writers</a>. They judged entries ranging from blog posts to TV news features, and two other writers in particular caught the attention of the panel. Colin Stuart, a freelance science journalist, and Emilie Martin, section editor at <a href="http://www.cieletespace.fr/">Ciel &amp; Espace</a>, were highly commended.</p>
<p>Colin&rsquo;s piece, &ldquo;Life in the Solar System&rdquo; appeared as one of the feature articles in Issue 30 of <em>All About Space</em> magazine, and it covered current and future European missions that are searching for life in the Solar System. Emilie&rsquo;s article, &ldquo;India Bets on its Astronomers&rdquo;, was written for the recently launched <em><a href="http://www.firstlight-magazine.com/product/first-light-magazine-demo-issue/">First Light</a></em> magazine. Although the judges found that the topic did not qualify for the prize as it dealt with Indian astronomy, they particularly appreciated the quality of the in-depth journalism.</p>
<p>Now in its third year, the European Astronomy Journalism Prize looks to reward excellence displayed in the field by professional journalists as well as students of both astronomy and journalism. The prize is awarded by ESO and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), in association with the Royal Astronomical Society and the Association of British Science Writers.</p>
<h3>More Information</h3>
<p><strong>ESO</strong></p>
<p>ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world&rsquo;s most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It is supported by 16 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, along with the host state of Chile. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world&rsquo;s most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and two survey telescopes. VISTA works in the infrared and is the world&rsquo;s largest survey telescope and the VLT Survey Telescope is the largest telescope designed to exclusively survey the skies in visible light. ESO is a major partner in ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, close to Paranal, ESO is building the 39-metre European Extremely Large Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become &ldquo;the world&rsquo;s biggest eye on the sky&rdquo;.</p>
<p><strong>STFC</strong></p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.stfc.ac.uk/home.aspx">Science and Technology Facilities Council</a> is keeping the UK at the forefront of international science and tackling some of the most significant challenges facing society such as meeting our future energy needs, monitoring and understanding climate change, and global security.</p>
<p>The Council has a broad science portfolio and works with the academic and industrial communities to share its expertise in materials science, space and ground-based astronomy technologies, laser science, microelectronics, wafer-scale manufacturing, particle and nuclear physics, alternative energy production, radio communications and radar.</p>
<p>STFC operates or hosts world-class experimental facilities including:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>in the UK; ISIS pulsed neutron source, the Central Laser Facility, and the Low-Frequency Array for radio astronomy (LOFAR). STFC is also the majority shareholder in Diamond Light Source Ltd.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>overseas; telescopes on La Palma and Hawaii.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>It enables UK researchers to access leading international science facilities by funding membership of international bodies including the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), the Institut Laue Langevin (ILL), European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO).</p>
<p>STFC also has an extensive public outreach and engagement programme. It is using its world-leading research to inspire and enthuse schools and the general public about the impact and benefits that science can have on society.</p>
<p>STFC is one of seven publicly funded research councils. It is an independent, non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).</p>
<p>Follow us on Twitter @STFC_Matters</p>
<p><strong>Royal Astronomical Society</strong></p>
<p>The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS: <a href="http://www.ras.org.uk/">www.ras.org.uk</a>), founded in 1820, encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, Solar System science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. The RAS organises scientific meetings, publishes international research and review journals, recognises outstanding achievements by the award of medals and prizes, maintains an extensive library, supports education through grants and outreach activities and represents UK astronomy nationally and internationally. Its more than 3500 members (Fellows), a third based overseas, include scientific researchers in universities, observatories and laboratories as well as historians of astronomy and others.</p>
<p><strong>Association of British Science Writers</strong></p>
<p>Founded in 1947, the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW, <a href="http://www.absw.org.uk/">http://www.absw.org.uk/</a>) is the professional organisation for science writers in the UK. Its 800 members write everything from news stories to books and scripts for TV programmes. It runs the UK&rsquo;s science journalism awards, holds the UK Conference of Science Journalists, and helps entrants to the profession to expand their skills. It is a leading member of the World Federation of Science Journalists and is involved in promoting science journalism in the developing world.</p>Mon, 02 Feb 2015 11:00:00 +0100http://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann15007/Media Advisory: Groundbreaking Ceremony for the ESO Supernovahttp://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann15006/<p>On 24 February 2015, at 12:30, a groundbreaking ceremony will be held at ESO&rsquo;s Headquarters in Garching bei M&uuml;nchen, Germany, to mark the start of construction work for the <a href="/public/news/eso1349/">ESO Supernova Planetarium and Visitor Centre</a>. The centre will be a magnificent showcase for astronomy and will be open to the public free of charge. It is made possible by a collaboration between the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS), the research institute of the Klaus Tschira Stiftung, and ESO. The Klaus Tschira Stiftung offered to fully fund the construction and ESO will run the facility.</p>
<p>This new facility will provide visitors with an immersive experience of astronomy in general, along with ESO&rsquo;s scientific results, projects, and technological breakthroughs. It will include a fulldome planetarium and more than 2000 square metres of permanent and temporary exhibitions. Further rooms housing conference facilities will also host a programme of lectures, workshops and conferences. All content will be provided in both English and German.</p>
<p>The new building&rsquo;s unique design will resemble the form of a binary star system transferring mass from one component to the other, which will lead to a supernova. This is also reflected in the name of the facility: ESO Supernova.</p>
<p>Members of the media are welcome to attend the groundbreaking event. Please register by filling out this <a href="http://www.eso.org/public/outreach/rsvp/">form</a> by 18 February 2015. Interviews will be available with the ESO Director General, Tim de Zeeuw, representatives of the Klaus Tschira Stiftung, the mayor of Garching, Dietmar Gruchmann, the ESO Supernova Project Coordinator, Fabian Reckmann and the architect Manfred Bernhardt.</p>
<p>Registered media representatives will be welcomed at ESO from 11:30. At 12:30, the ESO Director General will open the event and, after speeches from Klaus Tschira, Dietmar Gruchmann and Manfred Bernhardt, guests will go outside for a short groundbreaking ceremony, followed by press interviews and photographs.</p>
<p>On the day of the ceremony the ESO Supernova logo will be unveiled and the website and social media accounts will open to the public.</p>Mon, 26 Jan 2015 11:00:00 +0100http://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann15006/New High-speed Fibre Optic Data Link to ALMAhttp://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann15005/<p dir="ltr">The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (<a href="http://www.eso.org/alma">ALMA</a>) radio telescope has increased its capacity for remote transmission of data by a factor of 25. A new connection consisting of 150 kilometres of fibre optic cables has been successfully installed between the observatory &mdash; situated 34 kilometres from San Pedro de Atacama &mdash; and the city of Calama in northern Chile. From Calama, the system connects with the Corporaci&oacute;n Red Universitaria Nacional (<a href="http://www.reuna.cl/">REUNA</a>) network, which is already established in Antofagasta and, from there onwards, to the offices of ALMA in Santiago, through existing infrastructure (the<a href="http://www.evalso.eu/"> EVALSO</a> project).</p>
<p dir="ltr">This milestone for ALMA means that in future an enormous amount of data can be delivered, with astonishing speed, to the ALMA scientific community around the world.</p>
<p dir="ltr">This important step for the scientific work of ALMA is the result of a contract signed between AUI, the institution that represents the North American partners of ALMA, with <a href="http://www.silica.cl/">S&iacute;lica Networks Chile S.A.</a> and <a href="http://www.telefonicachile.cl/">Telef&oacute;nica Empresas Chile S.A.</a> It is expected that while it will benefit the scientific work, the system will also facilitate connectivity through optical fibre to an area of the country that lacks this facility so far, and which might even be extended to reach Argentina in the future.</p>
<p dir="ltr">&ldquo;<em>This new infrastructure not only allows the transmission of the enormous amount of data generated by ALMA, but also improves the level of communication between the people operating the observatory at a remote site in the middle of the Atacama Desert and those who process that data in the central offices in Santiago and around the world</em>,&rdquo; said Giorgio Filippi of ESO, who is project leader.</p>
<p>The technological milestone culminated in tests of data transmission between the Chajnantor Plateau, situated at an altitude of 5000 metres above sea level, where the 66 ALMA antennas are located, and offices in Santiago. Although the full capacity of the installed network was not used &mdash; two channels with a capacity exceeding 1 Gbps (gigabit per second) were used for testing &mdash; a videoconference between both geographical points was established successfully, as well as with the Santiago offices of REUNA, simultaneously, which proved that the system works.</p>Tue, 20 Jan 2015 16:00:00 +0100http://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann15005/ALMA Residencia Construction to Starthttp://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann15004/<p>The construction contract to build the <a href="/public/teles-instr/alma/">Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA)</a> &nbsp;Residencia has been awarded to the consortium L y D - Axis, consisting of <a href="http://www.ldconstructora.cl/">Constructora L y D S.A.</a> and <a href="http://www.axisdc.cl/">Axis Desarrollos Constructivos S.A.</a> Both are Chilean companies that have experience in constructing residential-type buildings in the challenging environment of the north of Chile.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The ALMA Residencia will be the new home for staff and visitors to the facility. The shape of the buildings and the colour of the exteriors of this major architectural project have been designed to meld with the topography, the environment and the landscape of the ALMA site. The design was undertaken by the Finnish architects <a href="http://www.kouvo-partanen.fi/">Kuovo &amp; Partanen</a> and was then adapted to the Chilean market by <a href="http://rsarq.cl/">Rigotti &amp; Simunovic Arquitectos</a>, a Chilean firm of architects.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Ever since the construction of ALMA began in 2008, with the delivery of ALMA&rsquo;s first antenna (<a href="/public/news/eso0849/">eso0849</a>), staff and visitors have lived and stayed in temporary containers in the base camp at the <a href="http://www.almaobservatory.org/en/about-alma/location">Operations Support Facility</a> (OSF), the focal point of all antenna Assembly Integration Verification (AIV) activities. Located at 2900 metres above sea level, the OSF site is about 15 kilometres from the nearest public road and the closest town is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Pedro_de_Atacama">San Pedro de Atacama</a>.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The construction of the ALMA array has taken priority up to now and the Residencia at the OSF is the last outstanding major contract.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The work specified in the contract will begin in early 2015 and is expected to take 18 months. Given the harsh desert environment, remote location and shift work (both day and night) for the ALMA staff, the Residencia was designed to provide a pleasant on-site environment for staff and visitors who come from as many as 20 countries worldwide.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The Residencia has two main zones: common areas and dormitory areas. The design uses a modular concept so that more accommodation can be added if necessary. Initially there will be 120 rooms extending across six buildings.</p>
<p>The common areas include leisure facilities such as a library, cafeteria, lounge, spa with gym, swimming pool, sauna and barbecue area. A kitchen and dining room will also be provided, with enough space to accommodate half of the residents at the same time.</p>Fri, 16 Jan 2015 16:00:00 +0100http://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann15004/ESO Awards Contracts for E-ELT Primary Mirror Segment Support System Unitshttp://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann15003/<p>ESO has signed parallel contracts with <a href="http://www.cesa.aero/en/">CESA</a> (Spain) and <a href="http://www.vdlgroep.com/"><span>VDL</span></a> (the Netherlands) for the design and production of qualification models <a href="#1">[1]</a> for mirror segment support and related auxiliary equipment for the primary mirror of the European Extremely Large Telescope (<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/e-elt/index.html">E-ELT</a>). This follows the earlier design and development of prototypes, their intensive testing at the ESO facility and a detailed assessment of lessons learned.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The complete E-ELT primary mirror will be 39 metres in diameter. The mirror surface will comprise 798 hexagonal segments, plus a maintenance set, for a total of 931 segments. The hexagonal shape means that a common support structure can be used for all segments. These contracts include the delivery of detailed and complete instructions and engineering drawings for the production of the series. They also include the development of the procedures required to integrate the supports with the E-ELT glass segments, to handle and transport the segment assemblies, and to operate and maintain them.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The contracts with CESA and VDL run for an initial period of 30 months. They will consist of preliminary and detailed design phases followed by the production of engineering models and testing. Four qualification models per contract will be delivered. At the end of the project, and before the competition for the series production starts, the qualification models will be integrated and tested at ESO&rsquo;s dedicated test facility for E-ELT primary mirror segments.</p>
<p dir="ltr">E-ELT first light is planned for 2024, when it will begin to tackle the biggest astronomical challenges of our time. The giant telescope is expected to allow the exploration of completely unknown realms of the Universe &mdash; it will be: <span>&ldquo;the world&rsquo;s biggest eye on the sky&rdquo;.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>Notes</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr"><span><a name="1"></a>[1] Qualification models are versions of the hardware that can be used to demonstrate that the design fully satisfies the requirements of the project.</span></p>Fri, 16 Jan 2015 14:00:00 +0100http://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann15003/